Gorsch Moment in Time: September 2014

Colorado Vacation--June 21-29:

Day 1/Saturday: We packed the van on Friday night after eating dinner and putting the kids to bed early (and after I made a quick trip to the hospital to visit our friends who just had twin boys!) Marc and I made it to bed late, cooler set out, kids clothes packed in a bag, car loaded to bursting... after sleeping for a few hours we got up at 3 to load the cooler and do last minute prep. We got the kids up at 4 and loaded them in their pj's. We drove thru Dunkin' Donuts for caffeine and were on our way! We drove about 5 hours and made our first stop for breakfast at Denny's. We changed the kids, ate breakfast and had them do some jumping and running (for real--right next to the parking lot!) After that we drove another 4 hours before making our lunch stop at a rest area. We had packed lunch in a cooler and we enjoyed a fun lunch stop picnic. This time the kids had more space to run and play. We were more than half way but after lunch our traveling slowed down a bit with more bathroom breaks. We finally stopped for dinner at a Wendy's around 8. After that we only had about 2 hours left. We finally pulled onto Appletree Loop in Colorado Springs at about 9:30 PM (10:30 our time). Everyone was excited to see our Colorado cousins (and of course Uncle Nathan & Aunt Cori) and also excited to get OUT OF THE CAR! After a quick celebration, tour of the house, and hugs all around it was off to bed for a much needed good night sleep.

Day 2/Sunday: We slept in as much as we could then were up for breakfast and getting ready for church. We loved visiting Nathan & Cori's church. The kids all had a great time in their kid areas--Sadie went with Emmy, Kinnick & Macey were in class together, and Carver went to his room. Marc and I enjoyed the service and loved getting to visit their church. After church we changed clothes and went to Cori's parents' for a cook out and some fun. We road quads, enjoyed an awesome meal, the kids had a water fight, Carver and I took a nap, we watched the World Cup in their theater room, and the kids had a great time running and playing. On the way home we stopped at Orange Leaf (fro-yo) for "dinner".

Day 3/Monday: We had a much needed, laid-back day. The kids played in the yard for most of the morning. Cori and I managed to sneak away and run some errands, have coffee, and buy supplies for a few craft projects. That evening, the guys went to a Cardinals/Rockies game in Denver and we had a girls night. We started with a shopping trip to Claire's. Next we picked up mini bundt cakes from "Nothing Bundt Cake". When we got home, the girls got busy making place mats, decorating plastic silverware, and making name cards for our "fancy dinner" (of fruit and chicken tenders!). After dinner we had a salon night featuring facials and Mani/Pedi's. We ended our night by surprising them with some fun new art projects--Macey got a reusable sticker book and the big girls got lap desks that they got to decorate themselves.

Day4/Tuesday: In the morning we went hiking at Fox Run Trails. We enjoyed hiking in this wooded area and had a picnic lunch at the playground. On Tuesday afternoon it rained so we had an indoor "Minute-to-Win-It" Cousin Competition. The kids had a blast. We also enjoyed a fabulous taco bar for dinner.

"Face the Cookie"

"Hanky Panky"

"Tweeze Theses"

"Nose Dive"

"Match Maker"

Cookie Face!

Goofing around...

"Stack Attack"

"A Bit Dicey"

"Chocolate Unicorn"

Day 5/Wednesday: This was our busiest day... After hiking at Fox Run, Kinnick said "I thought we were going to hike on a mountain!" So we went some place a bit more scenic... First we drove through Garden of the Gods and stopped for some rock climbing and picture taking. After that we went hiking at Red Rocks... turns out Kinnick didn't like "hiking on a mountain" quite as much as he thought he would! He was tired after about 20 minutes (as was Macey). Next we drove into Manito Springs and had a blast playing at penny arcade (games were actually a quarter, but it was still fun!) The kids played lots of games and did lots of little rides. We also bought some taffy to enjoy. We stopped at another park for a picnic and made it home right before the rain started (it rained almost every afternoon while we were there!) That evening Jaren had a scrimmage with his baseball team. Marc and Kinnick went with him and Nathan. Us girls (and Carver) stayed home and made tissue paper dresses. It was so fun--we gave the girls, tissue paper, tape (scotch & duck tape), scissors, and a bit of twine. They worked hard to make some colorful creations and we ended with a fashion show.

Day 6/Thursday: We had a laid back day Thursday--lots of playing outside (all morning!). Cori made homemade sno-cones for the kids. Thursday was the warmest day of the week so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the pool around noon. We enjoyed an afternoon of swimming. We enjoyed an awesome dinner of BBQ ribs and finished the night off by walking to the community fire pit for s'mores. S'mores was probably my favorite time of the week. It was so fun to sit around the fire together and laugh, play games, tell stories, and toast marshmallows.

Day 7/Friday: Friday was our last full day (very bittersweet!) Cori wanted to have a little party for Carver to celebrate his 1st birthday. This was so fun because we don't ever get to do birthday parties with our CO cousins. She reserved a party room for us at Focus on the Family. We enjoyed chocolate cupcakes (and Carver had his own smash cake--that he devoured!) and presents. Afterwards we had fun exploring all the different play rooms at the visitor center. It was a fun morning. We went out for lunch then spent our last afternoon playing, crafting, and hanging out. We ended the night with as "Indiana Jones" movie night.

Day 8/Saturday--Heading Home: We were up early on our last morning to head to Jaren's baseball tournament. We were able to watch his team play 2 games. It was so fun to get to watch him play a sport that he really loves. Kinnick was so in awe of his big cousin. After the game we hit the road for a 6 hour drive to Kearney, NE where we stayed overnight. We hit the swimming pool and Marc went out to get food for us. On Sunday we slept in and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. We hit the road about 11 and drove to Des Moines, IA where we had a late lunch/early dinner at Pizza Wagon (I think it is officially a new family favorite!) After that we stopped in Grinnell to visit Great-Grandma DePauw. We also let the kids each pick out a gas station treat (which they thought was about the coolest thing ever). We made it back to our home-sweet-home at about 10 PM. Macey was running around her room hugging everything saying "Oh, I missed my pillow/blanket/bed/babydoll/well, you get the point!